| Question: As one uses a crutch when one is lame, when one is weak, just beginning, should not one use mantra yoga, the repetition of a word? Krishnamurti: Who tells you that you are weak, that you are lame? Who tells you? Or have you found out yourself that you are weak, therefore you need a crutch, therefore you need a mantra, the repetition of a word? Why do you assume that you are weak and therefore need this, which supposedly will ultimately lead you to strength and therefore freedom? Involved in this is gradualness: I am stupid now, but gradually I will become intelligent. And while I am stupid, I will do all the things that will make me still more stupid – mantra yoga, repetition of words, rituals – because really what I want is to find pleasure. What we want is pleasure. We don’t say we want pleasure; we want to achieve some noble thing. When you repeat a word hoping that it will lead you to some extraordinary state, what you are seeking is pleasure. From Public Talk 5, Sydney, 29 November 1970 Read more | 